Lola gives migrant workers a second look

The Jakarta Post | Wed, 01/28/2009 9:42 AM | People

JAKARTA: Having gained some insight into the lives of Indonesian workers in Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong, actress and director Lola Amaria is telling a different story.
JP/P.J. Leo
“It always seems like everything about Indonesian workers abroad is bad,” Lola told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday. “There has been a stigma about Indonesian workers abroad, but I found out more about them.”
Lola said she learned things were not so bad for Indonesian workers in Chinese Taipei when she was there shooting a movie about Indonesian workers titled Detours to Paradise, which will be released on Feb. 20.
“I was so amazed, first because the film is made by Taiwanese people and it is based on a true story, and second because I found out that many Indonesian workers have a better life than we usually believe.”
Lola, 31, who became popular in 2002 thanks to the film Ca Bau Kan, is now back home to prepare for another film, this time about Indonesian workers in Hong Kong.
“I found some interesting stories about our workers in Hong Kong when I did some research. A woman who has been working there for more than eight years she said she didn’t want to return to Indonesia,” she said.
“Her salary is over Rp 8 million and she has bought everything for her parents back home including a house. I was so touched by the story because even I can’t buy a house for my parents.” —JP/Matheos V. Messakh